ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- The St. Landry Parish Council has given Parish President Jessie Bellard the green light to establish a line credit from the state for the parish, similar to the one that exited before Bellard took office, to help with the build-up of expenses and revenue shortages in 2024.

The plan was brought to the council by Bellard. He told council members that a $2 million credit line from the state, beginning next year, could come in handy under the circumstances the parish is seeing now -- which is a more than $900,000 deficit in the parish's general fund.

Harold Taylor, of District 5, said during a council meeting, "We had a $7.4 million budget. We only received 6.4 so far as of Oct. 31."

Bellard said the parish spent $774,000 over budget on inmates this year.

Other expenses taking a toll on the budget include the almost $1 million on debris removal from recent storms, however, the state is going to cover 75% of that total amount.

Bellard also told the council that having the $2 million credit line does not mean all of it will be used, and with it being an annual renewal, it will not result in long-term debt for the parish.

"So there's going to be a line of credit like we had before I got here. Year-to-year line of credit. Not a five-year, not a three-year, not an eight-year. A line of credit that goes into place. And then every year it can be renewed if needed. So it's the same structure as what we had before," Bellard said.

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